Conventionally to protect a circuit from eddy current, a fuse is mounted on the electric junction box for distributing a power supply to electric component parts mounted on a car. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-281078 (patent document 1), the slow blow fuse 1 shown in FIG. 11 is proposed.
In the slow blow fuse 1, the fuse element 5 having the female terminal-shaped input terminal part 2 and the output terminal part 3 connected thereto by the coupling part 4 having the fusing portion 4a is accommodated inside the box-shaped housing 6 made of an insulating resin. The insertion ports (not shown in FIG. 11) through which mating terminals are inserted into the housing 6 are formed through the bottom wall of the housing 6 at positions confronting the input terminal part 2 and the output terminal part 3 of the fuse element 5 so that the mating terminals inserted into the housing 6 through the insertion ports are connected to the input terminal part 2 and the output terminal part 3 respectively.
In the slow blow fuse 1 disclosed in the patent document 1, the coupling part 4 of the fuse element 5 is projected from the input terminal part 2 and the output terminal part 3 in a terminal plugging direction. Thus the fuse element 5 is long in the terminal plugging direction.
In addition in the fuse element 5 of the slow blow fuse 1 disclosed in the patent document 1, the mating terminals can be inserted into the input terminal part 2 and the output terminal part 3 from only the side of the housing 6 where the coupling part 4 is not provided. Therefore in inserting the slow blow fuse 1 accommodating the fuse element 5 into the fuse accommodation portion of the electric junction box, the bottom wall of the housing 6 should be set as the front end at the insertion side.
Ordinarily, the slow blow fuse is inserted into the fuse accommodation portion by using mechanical equipment. In inserting the slow blow fuse 1 into the fuse accommodation portion, it is necessary to position the slow blow fuse 1 in which component parts are irregularly arranged in such a way that the bottom wall of the housing 6 is set as the front end at the insertion side. Thus it is necessary to use a dedicated equipment to do so, which makes the production cost high.
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-281078